Missionary Update: Mike & Beverly Creiglow in Brazil [March 2012]
Mike and Beverly Creiglow have served the Lord in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil together for 40 years. In addition to pastoring First Baptist of Cruzeiro do Sul, Mike builds his own boats and frequently travels up and down rivers to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
March 7, 2012
Dear Brethren,
One of my trips this month was much longer than usual, but was not a river trip. While still in the States I received an invitation to be the keynote speaker at a seminary in southern Brazil. At the time, I didn’t know that we were going to be in the States longer than anticipated, nor did I realize how cramped for time after returning to the field. Anyway, I took out 10 days to speak to an average of 200 students and local pastors at Maranatha Bible Institute in the state of Paraná. It was their 50th anniversary celebration. The conference was 4 days and I spoke 7 times. All the lessons and theme were from John 3:30. Although my speaking style is much different from what they are used to, I am hoping that the Holy Spirit uses it to enlarge His kingdom.
The return trip was exhausting. One 9-hour leg by bus, followed by a 15-hour flight from São Paulo to Rio Branco, and a 12-hour layover before the 1-hour flight home.
Things are going great here. There have been a number of folks saved and several requests for baptism. One couple from our small group was saved and made a profession of faith in the Friday night prayer meeting at church. My son Andrew is the leader of our group, which meets every 2 weeks. Andrew pastors me in this group. He also pastors my son-in-law, Dauro, who is one of our local pastors, too. The group is already twice as big as it is supposed to be. We usually have over 20 people.
We held our first baptism service of the year on March 3. There were 29 people baptized. One more person was saved and there were other requests for baptism the same day.
We are working hard on the annex. It is already in limited use. We can use the garage and some of the second floor. We have been in desperate need of more space for some time. I have been devoting quite a bit of my time to getting the next floor poured. As soon as that is finished I plan to build the metal structure and roof for the third floor. What we really need to do is relocate, so pray that something will open up.
We are praying for you. We know that things have become extremely tough financially in the US. I can definitely say that I feel your pain, because our support has dropped dramatically over the past 5 months. So, as God blesses you, please try to bring up or bring back your offerings to the General Fund of Baptist Faith Missions.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike and Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil 69980
mdcreig [at] hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: John & Alta Hatcher in Brazil [March 2012]
Missionaries John and Alta Hatcher have served the Lord in Brazil since 1955, planting over 70 churches that are still in existence.
Dear Brethren and Friends,
The harvest is truly great and the reapers are not very abundant. We need laborers, urgently. People are needy, people are hurting and the only answer to their needs is Jesus. This past month Alta and I have gone to the city of Assai each Sunday and needless to say, we and the few who attend have been thrilled to have the new building that was graciously built by the Chapada Baptist Church in Manaus.
On February 20, about 45 persons came from the Duartina Baptist Church and spent two days in fellowship with the Urai and Cornelio Procopio churches. It was a great two days of Bible study and recreation. The Duartina Church was one we started in about 1976. Marcio Moraes, the pastor of Urai was saved there.
One morning the phone rang and a brother asked if he could come talk to me. He is a saved person, but his life is worse than that of the Samaritan woman. He has been married, separated and courted three others. God has been working in his life and he has come to realize his problem is: there has not been any emptying of self and surrendering to the Lord. He has made some serious commitments to the Lord and he seems to be growing in grace.
Another similar case was a medical doctor who asked me to sit down and listen to his case. He is a professing believer. This is a summary: “I have all that a man could desire. I have a great family, I have all the material things a man could want or need. I have money and I am not happy. I am very unhappy. When we leave our first love — Jesus — and confide in things the world offers, this is the result. The Manual for Joy is 1st John—that your joy may be complete.
There is a small circus here in town. Yesterday morning, I visited it to talk to the people about the Lord. They stopped and listened with attention and some were moved. I gave them some books of John and Romans. Pray with me that some of those families will be in Heaven. At eighty-six, life is not easy, but every day we seek to tell needy people about the Wonderful Savior who died on the cross, was buried and on the third day arose to save sinners.
Your servants for Jesus’ sake,
John and Alta Hatcher
Caixa Postal 112
Urai, PR, Brazil 86280-000
jhatcher[at]uol.com.br
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher in Brazil [February 2012]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the "SeedFactory" church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
Dear friends,
In this issue is a testimony of how the Lord saved a hopeless teenager from suicide and into new life in Christ. You will also be encouraged about a new church plant and get a quick update on our family.
Suicidal
A couple of weeks ago I received a desperate phone call from a mother who pleaded for help. Her 17-year-old son had attempted suicide and was in dire condition at the hospital. According to his Facebook post, it was approximately 3:00pm when he swallowed 70 muscle relaxants in the attempt to take his life. His mother arrived home from work at 6:30pm unaware of what happened earlier that day. She found him in convulsions laying on his bed. Quickly she called a neighbor with a car & rushed him to the nearest hospital. Only to discover there was no room & to look for another hospital. They stopped at multiple locations in search for an available ICU bed. It was only at the fifth hospital where they were able to find an available bed. At this point, with his vital signs virtually null, fluids in his lungs & with possible neurological damage the doctors informed the mother his chances of survival were slim to none. In hopelessness, she was instructed to give her last farewell to her son. Shortly after she called me for help. I have visited them daily at the hospital. The good news is that the Lord was merciful and allowed him to live, leaving the doctors confused by his comeback with no neurological damage. A few days ago, he surrendered to Christ and found new life. Unfortunately, many people live without hope. Our Messiah is the only hope. I am so grateful this teenage boy finally found a reason to live. Pray for him and his mother.
Church Planting Innovation
In August of 2011 the Lord laid on my heart to take on a new challenge. The previous four years of my ministry were focused on supervising construction/remodeling of buildings, in training & equipping pastors, while guiding them side-by-side (mentoring & coaching) as THEY led the church plant as senior pastors. Leading dedicated men in a “pastoral team in training” was fantastic and worked great!
Unfortunately, the Brazilian legal system is changing. Many new laws are already in place against churches, and more are on the way. So, upon our return to Brazil the Lord led me to do something different – to be the senior pastor of a new church plant & to train pastors in a slightly different fashion. In late 2011, I began church-planting conversations with two other couples the Lord laid on my heart. God is incredible. He confirmed our prayers and this is what happened:
On the second Sunday of January we had our first team meeting. We began with a prayer tour in a van throughout our city. We asked God to lead us where to start a church. Since then, we have met once a week for 5 hours at a time each Sunday. We decided not to focus on a church building, but instead invest more time on the people and meet in homes. Three weeks ago we started a weekly home prayer meeting on Wednesdays and now have 16 people attending. Last Sunday we had our first pre-evangelism cookout. We had 5 unsaved first time guests at the barbecue. We plan to have these cookouts every two weeks until May and reassess. Each event is hosted & sponsored by a different couple of the team, who are in charge of inviting friends and colleagues to their house. At the cookout we all mingle and connect with the new friends. The prayer before eating is a crucial moment for the guests to identify us as Christians, pave the way for the Gospel presentation and connect them into the Wednesday prayer meeting. March 25th will be our inaugural Sunday service. The new work will be called “Active Baptist Church”. Pray for us. It sure has been a lot of fun.
Family Life
Sarah, Laura and Benjamin are enrolled in school and doing well. Melissa Nicole was born December 1, 2011. She cries a lot due to gases. Sarah has shown to have a good ear for identifying instruments in songs as she hears them play on the cd player. Laura loves to tell stories and jokes. She has a charming laughter. Benjamin is a fast runner and likes to go with his daddy to the store. Raquel is lovely, as always. I am doing well. I’ve lost 5lbs since January.
Please, continue to support, challenge others to invest into the Kingdom through Baptist Faith Missions and pray for us. And, if the Lord leads, speak to your pastor, reach out and start a church! America still needs church-planters.
Grateful,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website | Twitter
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [February 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
January 2012
Dear Friends,
Praise the Lord for a great month. It has been a busy and enjoyable time. We began the new year in south Brazil at my parents’, John and Alta Hatcher. On the weekends, we visited the mission at Assai, where Dad is starting a church. It was a blessing to be with them.
We also visited the church at Uraí, where I preached twice. It’s always good to see the believers we know and rejoice that new believers are being added to the church.
The first full week of January, several of the churches from the state of Parana and São Paulo have family camp. I spoke in the morning services. We always have a great time when we see our friends and Pastors in South Brazil. The distance from Manaus to Uraí is nearly 2,600 miles (distance between Detroit, MI and San Francisco, CA); and, we don’t see them very often. I always love to see how God is blessing each of the churches.
Near the end of last year, the Lord opened the doors to start two new missions in homes here in Manaus. Let me tell about one of the churches. We are in a poor subdivision and the houses are small and built wall to wall. That is, each house shares two walls; the wall on each side is the neighbor’s wall also. The width of the house is twelve feet and we meet in front in an area twelve by sixteen which reaches right out to the street curb. The street is narrow and the gate to the house across the street is about thirty feet away. The main drug trafficker in the subdivision lives there. As we have our Bible Study and services, druggies come and go. We started a few months ago with a handful of people. The Lord has blessed. Two Sundays ago six were baptized and six more are waiting to be baptized next time. At our last service we had forty-two adults crowded in the space. They are growing in knowledge and trust in Jesus our Lord and Saviour. What is very noticeable in the community is how they love and help each other. This has been the greatest influence in bringing the neighbors and the new converts’ own families.
Praise the Lord! May the Lord bless each of us as we invest in spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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Missionary Update: Paul & Wanda Hatcher in Brazil [January 2012]
Paul and Wanda Hatcher have been serving the Lord together in Brazil for 36 years. Paul pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Their main ministry is church planting.
Dear friends,
Another year is ended. This one went by so rapidly. We are grateful to God and rejoice in his blessings and mercies.
The Lord blessed; the missions (church starts) had a great year. In October, six of the missions were ready to organize and incorporate as Baptist churches. At the same time six new Baptist ministers were ordained to the gospel ministry. The legal paperwork was a little complicated, however, all was completed. The following month of November, an additional eight churches were organized and properly registered with the government. Six additional pastors were ordained to the Gospel Ministry. Certainly this is reason for us all to rejoice in the Lord. You share in these blessings through your prayers and contributions to missions here in Brazil. Together, we are making friends for eternity. It is certainly a priceless hope to have eternal life. Imagine the joy of being received by friends in eternity – Brazilian friends you never knew in this life time – friends you made by sending the Gospel of Jesus Christ; they believed and now are children of God even as you and me.
Wanda and I thank you, too. Thanks for being prayer partners and giving friends. Jesus Christ has promised “Great is your reward in heaven.”
Now, a news update regarding our family. Wanda and I are doing well. We have great joy seeing our children walking with God and serving our Lord. We are enjoying our wonderful grandchildren – two boys and four girls. All the children, spouses and grandchildren are doing well.
We ask that you remember us in prayer, here are some special requests for the year: that the gospel will continue to grow and those who believe will grow in the Lord. Pray that the door of opportunity for the gospel will stay open. Pray that we will be wise stewards of our time and resources to achieve maximum amount sowing and reaping of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that God will strengthen us in faith, love and persistence.
We love you in Christ Jesus. May God richly bless you with peace and grace in Jesus Christ.
Paul and Wanda Hatcher
Avenida J. Carlos Antony, 172
65063-150 Manaus
Amazonas, Brasil SA
hatcher[at]argo.com.br
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